1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer systems and, in particular, to portable computer systems.
2. Background
A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a small hand-held computer for storing addresses and phone numbers, taking notes, and keeping track of daily appointments. And, unlike a paper organizer, a PDA can download e-mail and play music. Though originally intended to be simple digital calendars, PDAs have evolved into machines for crunching numbers, playing games or music, and downloading information from the Internet. However, typically a PDA is intended to complement a desktop or laptop computer (PC), not replace one.
PDAs can be categorized into two major categories: hand-held computers and palm-sized computers. Compared to palm-sized computers, hand-held computers tend to be larger and heavier. They have larger liquid crystal displays (LCD) and use a miniature keyboard, usually in combination with touch-screen technology, for data entry. Palm-sized computers are smaller and lighter. They have smaller LCDs and rely on stylus/touch-screen technology and handwriting recognition programs for data entry. Regardless of the type of PDA, conventional PDAs all include microprocessors, operating systems, local memories, and input/output devices.
The microprocessor is the brain of the PDA and coordinates all of the PDA's functions according to programmed instructions. The operating system of the PDA contains the pre-programmed instructions that tell the microprocessor what to do (e.g., how to operate the applications executed by the microprocessor). The PDA stores its basic programs (address book application, calendar application, memo pad application and operating system) in a read-only memory (ROM) chip, which remains intact even when the machine shuts down. The other data and programs that are added later are stored in the PDA's random-access memory (RAM), static RAM, and/or flash memory.
Because a typical PDA is intended to work in tandem with a PC, they need to work with the same information in both places. That is, if a PDA user makes an appointment on its PC, it also needs to transfer the appointment to its PDA; if the user jots down a phone number on its PDA, it should upload the number later to its PC. So, a PDA needs to be able to communicate with a PC. The communication between PDA and PC is referred to as data synchronization or “syncning.” This is typically done through a serial or USB port on the PDA. Some PDAs also offer wireless methods to transfer data to and from a PC/PC network, e.g., through a wireless e-mail/Internet service provider. In addition, some PDAs offer modem accessories to transfer files to and from a PC/PC network.
While PDAs are starting to have wireless network connectivity to facilitate data synchronization or syncing with the PC, they still rely on a locally stored operating system and applications to provide their functionalities. In this respect, the hardware resources available on the PDAs and the applications downloaded to the PDAs limit the capabilities of the conventional PDAs. Similarly, users of the PDAs have to configure the PDAs for their usage with the correct applications and parameters. In addition, if a user needs a new PDA due to a fault (or failure) of the current PDA or due to the current PDA having insufficient hardware resources, the user has to repeat the configuration process. Moreover, each PDA user needs to have its own PDA even if it only needs a PDA for a small fraction of the time. Therefore, a lot of time and cost are lost because conventional PDAs have to be periodically and individually provided, reconfigured and/or upgraded. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a PDA system and method with the advantages of a conventional PDA but avoiding the need to periodically and individually provide, reconfigure, and upgrade the PDA.
Moreover, conventional PDAs need to have sufficient memory (or storage) capacity and processing capability to execute applications locally. These requirements may conflict with the need or aim of having smaller and smaller PDAs, which may not have enough storage capacity or processing capability for storing or processing, respectively, large applications (or software programs or large parts of software programs). Accordingly, it is further desired to provide a system and method for providing a small (or thin) PDA without reducing the PDA's capabilities.